Fourth DWI lands felony charge for Lenoir man

A Lenoir man was arrested in Morganton after officers said his car was weaving down the road while he was drinking beer at 4:45 a.m. Tuesday.

When Officer D.K. Goforth pulled over the green Pontiac Grand Prix on Sanford Drive in Morganton, he saw an open 16-ounce Coors Light beer can in the center console, the Morganton Police Department reported. The driver, Timothy Lynn Felder, 31, of Staircase Road in Lenoir, told Goforth, that the beer was his first of the night and that he had no valid driver's license, the report said.

On a breath test, Felder's blood-alcohol level registered 0.11 percent. Under North Carolina law, a driver is presumed to be impaired with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent.

Felder was charged with felony habitual driving while impaired, driving while license revoked, failure to maintain his lane of travel and consuming an alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle. His bond was set at $15,500 secured. d damage to personal property.

The DWI was Felder's fourth in North Carolina. Felder was convicted of DWI in Caldwell County in November 2012, and in Forsyth County in January 2008 and June 2007.